The Unknowing Heiress

Chapter 25

“There is no mile as long the final one that leads back home.”  Katherine Marsh, Jepp, Who Defied the Stars

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Chapter Twenty – Five

 

Nate had arranged for the driver to take them through Charlotte, North Carolina, so that Maggie could visit her mother once more. Once again, Maggie was reminded of the fact that there was a good chance that she would not visit America again.

The journey to New York was a long and agitating one. Maggie was anxious to board the ship. The sooner they boarded, the sooner they would be in England.

Nora and her sons kept them entertained in the carriage. Nate found her Southernisms fascinating. He also enjoyed answering Anthony, Albert and even Nora’s many questions about England.

One night, while travelling through New Jersey, Nate asked Maggie a very unexpected question.

Max was asleep, leaning on Maggie’s shoulder, while opposite them, Nora slept with her arms around her sons.

“I did not ruin your trip, did I?” he asked quietly.

Maggie immediately shook her head. “Of course not, Daddy,” she assured him. “Why would you think that?”

“I was worried you would think that I did not value your independence,” he muttered. “I was worried you would resent me for interrupting.”

“For so long I wanted to know who I was and where I came from,” said Maggie quietly, “and it took coming here to learn those things. But you arrived just when I was ready to go home, and there is no place I am happier at then my father’s house.” Maggie would not burden her father or her family with the difficulties and the woes she faced at the Lavelle Plantation. Zachary would never be mentioned. She could never resent her father. Maggie knew that he had boarded the passenger ship because he had missed her. Maggie loved that her father could not stand to be apart from her, and she knew she would understand the feeling when she was a mother.

Nate’s smiled went from affectionate, to sly. He nodded towards the sleeping Max. “But do you not plan to leave your father’s house upon your marrying?” he asked. “Do you intend to live at Ascot?”

Maggie had not thought about where they would live. Truthfully, living at Ascot would be wonderful as she would see her family every day. But then, Maggie would not like to burden her aunt and uncle. “I do not intend to marry anytime soon, Daddy,” replied Maggie. “Was not Uncle Emmett’s marriage age condition with Mama and Aunt Rose twenty years old?”

“Indeed it was,” recalled Nate, “but Max is not at all like I was when I first wanted to marry your mother. If you wish to marry when we return to England, you may.”

Maggie enjoyed her father’s trust and faith in Max. She had heard tales of her father’s rakish past through her uncle. It was difficult to believe that Nate enjoyed other women in his youth as his eyes never strayed from his wife.

“I am not ready to marry, Daddy. Max knows this. We shall court for a time,” Maggie explained.

Nate smiled a wry smile. “I am glad that there is still a while yet before I must give you away. But you do realise that now that you are courting, the way that you two spend time together will have to change.” This was a serious warning. “You simply cannot be alone together anymore. Before, you were safe in each of our homes as the two of you had been inseparable since childhood. But now, as there is an element of romance to your relationship, you cannot be together without a chaperone present. All it takes is one loose lipped maid in the village and your reputation is ruined.”